Oregon Voters to Decide on Pot Legalization in November

Oregon voters will vote in November on whether they will live in the third state to legalize recreational marijuana for people 21 or older.

The Oregon Secretary of State certified a petition Tuesday for the Control, Regulation, and Taxation of Marijuana and Industrial Hemp Act, confirming it had enough signatures to land on the November ballot, according to the New Approach Oregon campaign, a group advocating for the law.

“This is our moment to be part of history and lead a movement,” Dominique Lopez, an organizer at New Approach Oregon, said in a statement. “Treating marijuana use as a crime has failed, but together we can win a more sensible approach and better the lives of Oregonians.”

The proposal would allow individuals to possess up to eight ounces of marijuana at home and cultivate up to four plants. It would require recreational marijuana to be taxed at $1.50 a gram and $35 an ounce. That income would be used for schools, law enforcement and drug treatment programs.

Oregonians opposed a poorly-funded and less organized legal recreational cannabis initiative in 2012, 55-45%, the Statesman Journal reports, but New Approach Oregon says it has learned from those mistakes.

Colorado and Washington were the first states to legalize recreational marijuana use.